Cougars claw way to first Thomas title

BEDFORD - There's not much the North Star High School wrestling team hasn't accomplished over the years - at least at the local level.

One thing that had always eluded the Cougars was a Thomas Chevrolet tournament title. North Star has had plenty of individual champions since 1993, but was never able to bring home the top team prize.

That all changed Saturday at Bedford Area High School as the Cougars wrapped up an impressive weekend of wrestling by capturing their first Thomas Chevrolet tournament title.

North Star piled up 229 points - 33 more than second-place Berlin and 62 1/2 more than third-place Claysburg-Kimmel.

"We've been coming down to Bedford for years," North Star coach Lou Lepley said. "It's nice to finally win one. Our team wrestled tough. We came down ready to wrestle. I'm proud of all the guys."

The Cougars had a tournament-high 13 placewinners, including four finalists and one champion.

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Senior Sal Lascari took his second straight Thomas title by defeating Clayburg-Kimmel's Ryan McIntyre in one of the more exciting championship bouts at 130 pounds.

With score tied 3-3 after the second period, McIntyre picked up an escape and a takedown to go ahead 6-3 late in the third.

Trailing by three with under 10 seconds remaining, Lascari needed a miracle and got one, nailing McIntyre in a nice Granby roll for a reversal and two near-fall points to pull out a 7-6 victory.

"I thought I could hit that Granby," Lascari said. "I felt it a couple times when he lifted me up and brought me down to the mat, I had the momentum to hit it. I knew it was a desperation move and I had to hit it. I was fortunate he wasn't looking for it. It surprised me."

"It's a tough tournament," Lascari added. "A lot of good wrestlers and teams. Plus winning a match like that makes it that much better."